Micheál Martin

First of all, recycling works in construction. I can recall that in advance of the London Olympics, and how many years ago is that-----

The Deputy did not even let me finish, or begin, actually. Prior to the London Olympics, I was Minister for enterprise when many construction companies in Ireland wanted to see if they could submit, tender and so on. The objective was up to 80% or 90% recycling for all the demolition and everything in respect of that. That was not law. That was their objective and their vision. Recycling is very …

We should do it.

It can be done, and it is being done. On the competition issue, the Deputy is saying that it is going to be reduced to four. We have the competition and consumer authority. Its job is to make sure there is competition in the market. If there are any complaints or if people have concerns about any unsavoury practices developing, then please submit that to the competition authority.

First, I thank the Deputy for raising what is the very important and pressing issue of coastal erosion across the country, but specifically in the south east. The Government is committed to progressing a co-ordinated, long-term approach to managing coastal change. I know there have been a variety of coastal works and funding at specific points, particularly in Wexford, in terms of the coastal prot…

I thank the Deputy. The projections are there. There has been comprehensive surveying of the coastal area of the island. Climate change will have fairly significant negative impacts, particularly rising sea levels, but also the frequency and velocity of the storms we are witnessing on our coastlines, all of which creates a very challenging situation for us. We have to respond with proper structure…

I too welcome to Dáil Éireann a group of survivors of industrial and reformatory schools who met with me and with the then Minister for education, Deputy McEntee, to discuss their concerns and to share their individual stories and experiences. As the Leas-Cheann Comhairle has said, they are Mary Donovan, Mary Dunlevy Greene, Miriam Moriarty Owens and Maurice Patton O’Connell. I pay tribute to them…

With regard to children who were detained in industrial schools and who were subsequently transferred to a reformatory school, solely by virtue of their detention in the industrial school, they are likewise not considered to have had any criminal record.

No person and, in particular, no agency of the State should in any way regard these individuals as having committed a criminal offence or having a criminal record. A formal statement to this effect will also be issued today by the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration. Certificates confirming this for individual survivors will be provided on a case-by-case basis following receipt of rec…

Ar dtús báire, ní aontaím in aon chor leis an Teachta. Ag déanamh áiféise atá sí. Má fheicimid ar an scéal ó 2021 amach, tá an uimhir SNAs sa chóras agus sna scoileanna ar fud na tíre ag méadú bliain i ndiaidh bliana. Tá an méid infheistíocht ag méadú chomh maith, bliain i ndiaidh bliana. Is léir, maidir leis an Rialtas a bhí againn roimh an olltoghchán agus an Rialtas atá againn anois, is é an me…

I understand where the Deputy is coming from. She speaks of cynicism. She personifies cynicism in her approach to politics and issues. She does not deal with them substantively or in any considered way. The bottom line is this. If we take special needs assistants alone, in 2020, there were 16,000 special needs assistants. Starting next September, there will be more than 25,000 special needs assis…

Ah, stop. The Deputy spends her time at it.

First of all, the Deputy has just articulated an empty soundbite - "a new departure". What does the Deputy mean by "a new departure"?

I am none the wiser as to the Deputy's new departure.

There is nothing to what she is saying. This is an opportunity to have a go; fair enough. That is what the Opposition tends to do.

What we are saying is that we are coming forward with the redeployment scheme and a new circular. I am open to discussion on the role of an SNA but the role of the SNA is primarily for the child, not the school.

Let us have these discussions-----

-----which cannot be forever debated in empty soundbites.

The child comes first. Do not mind your "wow". The child comes first all the time. The Deputy is not in the Gaiety School of Acting now.

The bottom line is it is a serious issue for children-----

-----and as far as I am concerned-----

-----we must focus on allocation on a child-based approach and a needs-based approach.

Everyone on this side of the House is as familiar with the issues as Deputy McDonald is. She does not have a monopoly on it and she should not pretend she does.

First of all, as we have outlined already - I said it last week in response to Deputy Bacik - any additional SNAs that were identified by the council as being required by a particular school will get this in the context of that review, so they will get that. The funding is additional to the education budget and will not be taken from any other part of the education budget. It is not an initiative…

I will take responsibility for the fact that well over 8,000 additional special needs assistants have been allocated to our schools since 2020. Let us have a sense of perspective here. Less of the rhetoric and the doomsday language.